Photos As Promised

 My "home" for the weekend, "Helene's Room"

 My Bathroom

Don't want to miss your favorite show while you take a hot bath?  No problem!

All you ever needed to know about raising farm animals. 

These are actual records of daily work completed on the farm.  As you can see, this page is from 1933. 

One of many self-portraits. 

Oh look, I'm on the bed. 

And now I'm casually sitting against this wall.

 Awkward?!   

My first morning's breakfast.  It was INCREDIBLE!  The homemade cider topped it off. 

I'm very good at using the timer on the camera at this point.  It's just hard to run back to the chair and act like I've been quietly sitting there the whole time. 

Heading out after breakfast to go see the lake. This was the view from my room.

Serene.  Quiet.  Perfect. 

Not another awkward self-portrait!

The very steep stairs heading down to the lake. 

I made it. Totally worth it.

Untouched snow.

I was fascinated by these crevasses. I couldn't tell where the water ended and the land began.

My soon-to-be companion.

It's okay.  I'm pretty sure this wasn't meant for me.

Back up the stairs.

View from the top.

Time for some serious snowshoeing.

Really, again?

Making my path where no one had gone before.  Or, at least since the last snowfall.

I love how brilliant this red was in contrast to everything else.

A funny peeling tree.

Wow, you're a natural.  You look so at-ease on those snow shoes.

Some of the cool farm machines.

All done.

My sweet little buddy.  Followed me around the whole morning and waited outside my door when I'd go inside.  I'm not usually a dog person, but she got to me.

I love red barns.

Some of the silos for storing grain.

We get it.  You like to take pictures of yourself.

Cozy feet.  Thanks Nae.

Sunday morning breakfast was equally AMAZING! 

The last self-portrait.  Showing off my timer-skills one last time.

An old butter churner was just one of their original antiques.

Exploring Sheboygan, this was a resort I came across on the lakeshore.

The only time I didn't take a picture of myself. As you can see, I decided to get my haircut.

A new "do" for a renewed me!

A trip and personal journey I will never forget.

Choosing My Moment

I started my goal for March a little early. The last weekend of February, I did something almost unheard-of, at least for a mom with two small children. Friday afternoon, I dropped the kids off with Miss Shelley while Mike was finishing up work, and I drove up to a little Bed and Breakfast in Wisconsin on the edge of Lake Michigan called the Lake Orchard Farm Bed and Breakfast. That is where this month's goal and eventual journey began.

I had been feeling a lot of turmoil inside of me, for various personal reasons and I knew that getting some alone time to sort through my feelings, enjoy some quiet time, and reconnect with God was something I really needed to do. I needed more than just an evening sitting in Starbucks, or a walk around the block. I needed to be really alone. For a whole weekend. This idea was perfect.

The Bed and Breakfast is located on a farm in a building that used to be the summer kitchen many years ago. It has since been converted into a beautiful building with four suites and two beautiful common areas filled with pictures and antiques showing the history of the farm. Each morning I ate breakfast by myself at an old oak farm table while I talked to the 5th generation farmer's wife who told me stories of the old days. Having spent many of my best summer memories as a child at my Great Uncle's farm, I felt right at home.  After breakfast, I headed down to the lake and sat in silence, listening to the wind, the water, and the thoughts I needed to straighten out. I almost got lost at one point when I went snowshoeing in the farm's wooded acreage. I followed the trails, but still got completely turned around. I didn't care, though. There was no one waiting for lunch or needing a nap. I could take as long as I wanted.

Over the course of the weekend, I took many hot baths in my personal whirlpool tub, during which I talked with God, cried with God, and listened to Him.  The joke to myself was that anytime I was ready for another "therapy session" all I had to do was fill up the tub and before I knew it the tears would be flowing.  Sometimes you just need to let it out.  As a mom, you don't take time for yourself. You forget how important it is to take care of your needs and that if you don't, you might not have the strength and energy to be the kind of mom, wife and person you want to be.

One of the things I learned, is that I need to work on finding balance.  I tend to be an "all or nothing" kind of person.  I usually put all of my energy in to something and the rest of the world is invisible to me, or I don't try at all.  This is a challenge when I want to work on my relationship with God and grow closer to Him, but keep getting distracted and finding other things to put "all" my energy into.

I went into the weekend thinking what I needed most was quiet time alone, but what I learned was that what I actually needed most was quiet time alone - with God.  And I need it on a regular basis, not just for one relaxing weekend, but I need Him all the time, to get through life without getting overwhelmed and overspent.

This month, my goal has been to keep finding these "moments" with God.  I've found them out on walks with my kids, laying in bed looking out my window, and sitting in the backyard.  It's actually much easier than I thought, I just have to choose to make it happen. During the day, we spend more time outside exploring than we do walking around the mall (helps that the weather is nicer now).  I've taken the boys to some new parks and several forest preserves. I feel more peaceful, the boys love running around outside rather than being stuck in a stroller or scolded for wandering away, and we all feel more connected to each other. I feel a peace that I haven't felt in a long time.

For the rest of this month, I'm going to keep choosing to have these moments, and to give myself more opportunities to experience them.  I can feel the changes and I want to keep them coming.

March-in' on.

We're a week in to March already, and I'm so glad. I think everyone I've talked to is more than ready for warmer days. We're finally having high temps in the 30's now - and it's about time! My yellow lily plant - the plant that was split and transplanted from the garden I had growing up in Washington, then to Denver, and now to Illinois (of course always leaving a piece behind) is already starting to come up!  We're ready for you, Spring!

My "Vegan Experience" for February was a huge education for me. I'm usually good at starting things with fierce motivation and it's always the finishing part that's hard for me. However, this time I stuck with it. Let me say, before I go on, that anything I share below is not meant to be judgemental or critical to anyone's personal eating preferences. My goal is to share my personal insights through my experience of going vegan, and my intent is not to offend anyone, but to share candidly with you.

I was having fun trying my little "experiment" until after about 2 1/2 weeks. It was then that I was very close to throwing in the towel, and making myself the biggest grilled-cheese sandwich I could ever imagine. I was definitely cranky for a week, missing my dairy products after the newness wore off. I pushed through it though, and am happy to say that I'm so glad I did. I had some great advice and insight from several vegan friends of mine.

One of my friends, Kristin, is vegan (or more appropriately, she is actually "cruelty-free") primarily for the abuse animals undergo so that we can eat food or use other products derived from them. She is an expert on all things vegan including the best places to eat, the best tasting imitation products, and also the processes animals go through to produce the products we use. It's pretty horrible to think about what they go through, and I'll admit that I hadn't thought seriously about that issue before. One thing I learned from her that especially impacted me was that even as a vegetarian, I can contribute to animal cruelty. For instance, cows are subjected to forced lactation, and eventually slaughtered after their milk production days are over. Another idea to consider, is whether it is actually natural for a human to drink milk from a cow anyway?  It's probably easier for me than for some to think of it as being unnatural since I don't drink milk anyway, but I may be the only one who feels that way in my family since I have several family members who LOVE milk (and for the record: they are totally entitled to love it!). For me, as a scrambled egg-lover, it was hard for me to hear that chickens beaks are cut off and baby boy chicks are literally thrown into the trash can since they produce no profitable product. Overall, I certainly have a lot to consider when it comes to consuming food from animals who endured pain and suffering to give it to me in the first place. There very well may be some exceptions to the treatment of animals in these situations, but I would expect that would be a rare exception.  To sum it up, I appreciate this thought from Kristin: "I just can't fathom forcing any person or animal to give me ANYTHING when I can live very happily and healthily without it."

Two of my other vegan friends, Becki and Kelsey, adopted the vegan-way primarily for health reasons (as I understand it from my conversations with them). A great benefit of a plant-based diet is that you don't have the fats and cholesterol issues to worry about.  You will almost always consume less calories which is also a benefit especially with the challenges of obesity we currently have in our culture.  You do have to take more care to think about what you're eating to make sure you have a balanced diet, but as long as you plan it right, you can get all your necessary vitamins and nutrients from plants.

Eating vegan is not necessarily the easiest way to eat - at least for me. I tend to have that common American problem of wanting things to be easy and fast and it can be hard finding good vegan options, especially if you eat out often. We eat at home much more than we used to, but I have been happy with Taco Bell's "Fresco" menu items on more than one occasion. Something else I learned was that it's not only dairy that a true vegan won't eat, but also gelatin (ingredients made from hooves) and honey. Just like a vegetarian, there are different types of vegans. Some choose to omit gelatin and honey, while others don't.

Overall, I have loved being vegan, and I decided to continue past February because I'm feeling so good. That's right, I'm still going! My body feels great, I am more "regular", and I've lost a few pounds! I still have plenty of energy and have found that I am eating less naturally. I don't crave food like I did before and I find I eat with more intention, to fuel my body, rather than to eat for pleasure or indulge in something tasty. I don't think there's necessarily something wrong with eating something just to enjoy it, but for me, I was bordering on an addiction to cheese and that wasn't healthy.

I would definitely recommend to anyone to try it out, but also to do it for at least a month so your body and mind really has time to adjust. You have nothing to lose, but you might lose cholesterol and a few pounds!

Thanks for reading.  I really learned a lot this month!

Later, I'll catch you up on my March goal!

Welcome to February - and a blizzard - and the start of my 2011 Resolution.

Tonight, I'm sitting on the couch in my cozy little living room with a cup of hot chocolate in my hand (when I'm not typing), looking out the window at the blizzard that, according to the news, is part of the "worst storm in decades to hit Chicago".  Illinois has declared a State of Emergency (I felt like doing the same for my house earlier today) and Mike is on duty all night at the hospital Command Center.  My two favorite little boys are asleep in their toasty bedroom.  Right now we have a windchill of 1 degree and about 10+ inches of snow on the ground with more falling.

Now that I had my month-long break in January, to recoup from the holidays and my temporary work, I'm ready to start my new resolution.  Are you ready?

This year, I've decided to do monthly goals that accumulate into a larger goal, or resolution, over the course of 2011.  My overall resolution for the year is summed up as follows: Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, Healthy Soul.  I want to focus on doing things that will help me be healthy in every way.  In some ways, last year was a time for me to recover from my pregnancy and c-section, and then, learn how to be a mom of two little ones.  Now that I'm feeling much more comfortable in the role of mom-of-two, I am ready to take some of the energy I have left at the end of the day (pending I still have some) and put it back into myself.  After all, I believe that being a healthy me, will make me a better mom and a happier mom.

So, about the goals.  I will be picking and announcing a new goal each month.  Each goal will either fit into the Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, or Healthy Soul category.  "Mind" goals might be something that would stimulate me (or the opposite - relax me) in an intellectual capacity.  "Body" goals would refer to a goal that is more "physical" in nature.  Finally, "Soul" goals will be intended to help me journey in a spiritual or emotional way.  I already expect that some goals will have an overlapping effect into at least one of my other "healthy" categories, but each will be initially intended to focus on just one of them.  I've already compiled a list of some ideas I've had, but I will be doing a constant self-evaluation to make sure that I'm working on goals that are currently relevant to me.  I'm so excited to begin this journey and share my strengths and struggles as I go.

Here's the first one:  February's goal is related to a "Healthy Body".  For the month of February, I'm going VEGAN!

That's right, this self-proclaimed lover of cheese is going to see if it's really possible for distance to make "the heart grow fonder" when it comes to my favorite animal byproducts.  It's not all about my cheese "addiction", however.  I've been increasingly interested in the vegan lifestyle (do you call it that?) particularly for it's health benefits.  I have yet to do much research, but I am curious if I'll notice anything after a month of no cheese, eggs, sour cream, or even michigan cottage cheese (a loud gasp is appropriate).  Although I am already mostly a vegetarian, I do occasionally partake in some chicken or fish.   This goal will, of course, eliminate any of those rare moments from my meal choices.  Since I hadn't decided until this evening that I was going to pick this particular goal for February, I'm forced to officially start my vegan journey tomorrow, as earlier this evening I enjoyed a plate of my homemade macaroni and cheese.  Considering this goal, I'd say it was the perfect "last supper".

Let the resolution begin.

Did you miss me?

It's been over 6 weeks since I last posted an update.  Time flies when you're having fun, I guess!

We had a wonderful Christmas with Mike's parents coming into town and we enjoyed seeing the boys unwrap their presents and get excited about the festivities.  New Year's we celebrated at Mark and Stephanie's with Zeb and Nicole (who also have a 1-year-old) and we partied until the way-late hour of 10pm.  I think we may have celebrated ringing in the New Year with Nova Scotia.  We were happy to officially welcome 2011 much later in the morning.

Since then, we've been trying to get back into the normal routine.  We've all had bad colds that have lasted since just after Christmas, it seems, but we're finally on the mend (finger's crossed).  A new employee has finally begun working in Human Resources at the hospital so I am finishing out two more days of this week and then I'm home with the boys full-time again.  As much as I enjoy working, it's hard to give myself to home and work so I'm glad to be truly "home" again.

Just before Christmas we sold our Pathfinder.  Having an SUV was fun, convenient, and...expensive.  I'm happy to say that just over a week ago, we bought a minivan.  We had been making payments on our Pathfinder, but it's wonderful to owe nothing on both of your cars and we were blessed to be able to buy a new (to us) vehicle with cash.  I'm still inspired by my hero Dave Ramsey, who convinced me it was not smart to make payments on a car.  Thank you, Dave.  It feels amazing!  After driving my Honda Odyssey for one whole week I can say, I am completely in love!  I much prefer the way it drives to a larger SUV like we had, and it's only about, oh, 50 times more convenient, let alone the fact that it costs less to both insure and to drive.  I'm now a firm believer in the minivan.

Now it's time for the hard truth before I sign off for the night.  Let's not sugar-coat it.  I didn't make my weight-loss goal.  I didn't even make my adjusted weight-loss goal.  In fact, I didn't even step on a scale until about a week ago.  Seeing what my weight is now, wasn't what I wanted to see, but it is what it is and that's okay.  It's nice to be done with my year of "resolution" even though I still want to lose more weight.  Now I can do it on my own and tell you in my own time when I feel like it.  Ha!

I have been thinking since November, about what I wanted to do with my blog this year.  I've decided that I need a bit of a break (hence my very quiet January), but that my new "blog resolution" will start in February.  What I intend to do is mini-monthly resolutions, rather than one that lasts for a year.  I'll give you more details later, but it's already planned out and I'm really excited about it.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that you've started 2011 with as much joy as possible!  Happy New Year!  It's great to be back!

A Goal Revisited

Now that it's December, I'm faced with the harsh reality of the Resolution I made in January.  My goal was to lose over 30 pounds this year taking me from 182.4 lbs, 6 weeks after giving birth to Max, down to 150 pounds, the weight I was over 3 years ago before I was pregnant with Mason.

It's been harder in some ways than I thought it would be.  Taking care of two little ones leaves much less time and energy to exercise and think about my eating habits than I expected.  On the other hand, it was too easy for me to procrastinate since I had a whole year to lose the weight.  As it turns out, I don't expect to reach my goal of 150 lbs. by December 31.  However, there is still some success I'll be able to celebrate and I'm looking forward to seeing what the final result will be!

As a final push at the end of this year, I'm going back to using the "MyPlate" feature on livestrong.com to track my food intake and my activities.  Also, I'm using Stephanie as my accountability partner.  I will have to tell her at least weekly what I weigh, with no excuses.  Although I post it in my blog regularly, it makes a difference to say it out loud to a real person!

I have 31 days to reach a new goal.  I weighed in this morning at a surprising 163.6 pounds.  It was lower than I expected after indulging in delicious Thanksgiving meals with our family in Kansas City (which, by the way, we had an amazing time seeing our grandparents and hanging out with Mom and Dad Murrill - it always goes by too fast).  I am setting a new goal of losing 5 pounds by December 31.  That means my new, adjusted goal is 158.6 pounds.  Here we go!

Wake-up Call

It's 7am, and thanks to my personal little alarm clock, also known as "Max", I've already been up for at least 1.5 hours.  I can't say that I mind too much, but I am hoping I get a little nap later today.

We've been having a wonderful time with the Murrill family here in Kansas City.  Stephanie and I brought the littlest ones, Max and Monroe, with us on Monday.  Mike, Mark and Mason drove out on Tuesday evening.  We celebrated Stephanie's 30th Birthday with a surprise dinner with friends at California Pizza Kitchen and some shopping and fun to follow.  There were two "celebrity" sightings during the celebration, we saw Sasha Kahn of the 2008 Champion KU Jayhawks, and Michael Tait, of the Newsboys and formerly of D.C. Talk.  The birthday girl even got her picture with Mr. Tait!

This morning we'll head to church and we're looking forward to seeing old friends.  There's just something about Sabbath.  I'm so glad it's here.  I'm so glad to have the rest and time-out from everyday life!

Shabbat Shalom!

Happy Sabbath, Dear Friends!  I hope you are enjoying rest and taking time for the important things in life.  I am already getting into the Thanksgiving spirit, I suppose, because I've been thinking about things I'm thankful for.  Lately, I have been overwhelmingly thankful for my family, and today I'm going to tell you why.

My littlest boy, Max, is now a big one year-old and he has been dubbed by some, to be a "mini-me".  People say his eyes are just like mine and that he resembles me very much.  I'm so thankful for him, for how he has opened my heart up even more to learn how to love.  He makes me feel needed, wanted, and very important.  He also makes me feel like I'm doing a good job when he gives me his big toothy grin!

My oldest son, Mason, is a very busy 2 1/2 year-old who is looking more like his Daddy everyday, except for the little guy's amazing head of red hair.  I'm so thankful for Mason because he taught me how to be a mother and how to love like one.   Every time I hear his hearty little laugh I can't help but smile.  He is forgiving and loves me unconditionally.

My husband, Mike, has been in my life for 9 1/2 years, with 7 1/2 as my husband.  That's long enough for him to realize that I am terribly flawed.  He's been the receiver of my selfishness, my thoughtless remarks, my controlling habits, and the many negative effects of my insecurities.  Somehow he has loved me in spite of these things.  He is still the only person I ever want to spend my life with, my best friend, the only one who really "gets" me, and the one I still believe God planned for me.  He is an incredible man of God whom I aspire to be more like in many ways.

This thanksgiving, I'm more thankful than ever for the amazing blessing of my immediate and extended families.

So...I weighed in yesterday morning at 165.0 lbs.  I would like it to be much less.  But, it's not.  Enough said.

I wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Fasting

My media fast seemed to be so effective, that it even kept me away from my blog for quite a while!  Renee and I had quite an experience cutting media out of our lives for those two weeks.  We went through a range of emotions and phases including excitement, denial, frustration, anger, acceptance, and finally happiness.

We learned that movies, TV, magazines, books, the internet (yes, even facebook), and other media sources are not necessary to living a happy life and more often that not, (at least for us) were more detrimental.  We realized we needed to learn to create better boundaries if we choose to partake in anything media-related or it can easily overwhelm and overtake our minds, taking our focus away from both our families and from God, which are much more important to us than anything else.

Personally, I learned that I was living without true peace as I had not been taking any time for personal reflection or worship.  After my fast, I feel much more engaged in the lives of my boys and also with my marriage.  I haven't watched any TV (except a little sports with Mike), but I have watched one movie, read a few magazines, and have been online some, however it's been significantly less than my former ways.  I feel happier, more at peace, and generally less stressed.

I think two weeks was a crucial timeframe for this experiment.  One week would not have been long enough to change our habits.  After one week was over, we were annoyed and agitated as we felt the loss of our "media habits", but hadn't filled the hole with anything else.  It was the second week where the growth occurred.  In fact, I chose to fast from a couple of other things just to make sure that they too weren't more important in my life than they should be.

Now that it's over, I wish I could say I read my Bible everyday and spend lots of time in worship, but that wouldn't be true.  What I can say is, that I'm doing better with it now that I've created some space in my life for time with God to exist, but changing your lifestyle or habits isn't easy and it isn't immediate.  I know I have work ahead of me to put my relationship with God where it needs to be, but He is faithful and will guide me each step of the way.

Let me catch my breath.

Things have been so crazy lately that I feel like I'm barely able to keep up with myself!  We got back from Des Moines and 2 days later, the boys and I caught a flight to Washington where we visited with my family there.  It was a very fun 11 days, but also was tiring taking care of two boys as my cold turned into bronchitis and I had some pretty severe asthma.  We got back at about 1:00 A.M. this past Sunday morning and I was able to get some much-needed rest the past few days.

Today I started back to work.  Let me catch you up.  The first time, several weeks ago, it didn't end up working out which was actually good, as I had agreed to work 4 days a week and looking back, I was probably a little goofy thinking I could actually do that and maintain sanity.  I admire you mom's that work full-time.  That is a tough task and so many of you do it so well!  So Monday evening I got a message from Brandon, my boss and friend, who said they needed me after all, and that it would be great if I could start Wednesday (today).  It all happened to work out with childcare and I've agreed to work Monday mornings, and a full day on both Tuesday and Thursday.  This is a very do-able schedule for me and I am very thankful to have the extra income.

Speaking of Brandon, ahheeemmmm...He and his family, 5 people whom I love dearly (Maria, Mitchell, Blythe and Brynley), have announced that they are moving to North Carolina.  While I'd like to try anything to make them stay (selfishly, of course), and I have actually tried to think of something I could do to make them stay, I have to realize that instead of feeling sad that I should rejoice for the time God blessed us with by placing them in our lives.  They are some of the most kind-hearted, loving, fun, cool, gracious and meaningful people I've known.  I have no doubt they will be very happy and that God is leading them.  It's hard to leave people you appreciate and hard to be the ones left.  We've been on both sides and neither is easy.  I ask that you join me in praying for the Nudd family as they anticipate and begin their new life in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina.  We will miss you terribly! Ok, well at least they will likely be here a couple more months, give or take.  :)  I can cram in some time with them, although they might get sick of me hanging around all the time!  Oh well.  They shouldn't have told me they were leaving then.

I haven't weighed on Friday's like I'm supposed to.  I'll get back at it this week.  It's been too hard being on vacation across the country to keep up with it.

You won't find me on facebook or anywhere else on the internet (except for email and my blog), or reading books or magazines, or watching tv or movies for a little under 2 weeks.  My sis and I decided to try a "Media Fast" where we stop all of our bad habits and vices and only allow ourselves to journal and read our bibles.  It's already been very interesting and I'll let you know how the experiment has gone, once we finish.

It's just after 9:00 P.M., but I am so tired I think I might go to bed right now.  Good night!

Welcome to Des Moines

What an interesting trip this has proven to be.  All four of us are sick with this nasty cold to some degree.  We left Chicago on Friday much later than we had hoped, and once we got to our hotel in Des Moines, our relief was short-lived when Max threw up all over himself.  This was not some little spit up scenario, but a full-fledged heaving kind of throw up.  I felt so bad for him.

We had stopped for a plethora of medicines at Walgreens on our way to the hotel and as I gave Mason his cough medicine at bedtime, he completely missed his mouth and spilled it all over his blanket and himself.  Sometimes you just have to smile.

My cold has turned into something much closer to a full-fledged sinus infection and Mike is also battling this irritating illness. If we didn't love Kyla so much, I can say this would have been an easy decision to stay home.  On the upside, the hotel we're staying at has an indoor water park complete with a pirate ship that Mason has been more than delighted to explore.  I'll post some pictures after we return home.

The wedding was so much fun on Saturday night.  Kyla looked amazing and we're so happy for her and Lance.  They make a beautiful couple both inside and out.  Today we're going to take the boys over to see them at their house before we watch the Chiefs game with Dad Murrill and have to head home.

Please pray that we'll all start to feel better.  I've been sick over a week now and am concerned how the flight to Washington will go Tuesday if we are still fighting this virus.

Annoyed

This morning I'm a bit frustrated and more than a little annoyed.  However, I'll get over it.  I weighed in at 165.6 pounds this morning.  All week I've been weighing myself almost everyday and I've been weighing 164.6.  A whole pound lighter!  Oh well, that's how it goes, I suppose.  Maybe next week I can lose again.  I did, however, make good on my promise of having no sugar.  It's a good thing too, because I've been fighting a cold since last weekend that I can't seem to get over.  I'm sure if I had been having sugar, it would have already developed into something much worse.

In a few hours we are headed off to Des Moines, Iowa for the weekend.  One of Mike's friends from Grad school, who our whole family has come to love, Kyla, is getting married!  We are so happy for her and so glad we can make the trip to celebrate with her.  Dad Murrill is meeting us there tomorrow to watch the boys as we go to the wedding.  Sunday there is a luncheon where we'll get to take the boys to see the new bride and groom.

Thank you to Timi and Gina, for sharing your ideas last week for accomplishing a goal!  That meant a lot to me!  I've decided to take the next two weeks and devote one week to each of you!  First, for this week, I'll try out Timi's method and try to give myself prizes and incentives for doing a good job.  I know that it's probably meant to be spread out over a much larger time period, but I'm going to try it anyway.  I'll about Gina's goal next week.

After we get back from Iowa on Sunday night, the boys and I have until Tuesday to be at home.  Tuesday evening Mason, Max and I are flying to Washington to have fun with family for 11 days!  I'm so excited to see everyone but a little nervous about the flights out there with just me and two little guys!  I hope they will do good.  I may not be able to keep up with my blog for the next several weeks, depending on how it goes, so bear with me.  I will still weigh each week and post the results when I get back, if not before.

Have a great weekend!

The good, the bad, and the shocking

This week I feel like there is both good and bad to report when it comes to my weight-loss resolution.

First, the good: I weighed in at 165.6 this morning!  Yay.

But then there's the bad: I've continued to stay off of sugar, but I totally cheated this week.  I had a rice-crispy treat last weekend (okay...full admission: I had more than one), a chocolate frosty from Wendy's on Wednesday (but at least it was a small), and a piece of chocolate cake at Jen's baby shower last night.  Whew!  Now that the burden of stolen sugar is off my shoulders, I feel even lighter.  Pun kind of intended.  Let's see if I can try this again for the week and actually not eat any sugar going forward!

The big news is that I'm going back to work.  Don't be too shocked, I'm still in love with being at home full-time with Mason and Max, but my fellow-recruiter at the hospital is re-locating out of state so I've agreed to help temporarily while they work to fill the position.  It's going to be interesting - an adjustment for me as I'll be working twice as much per week as when I resigned.  I'll be working 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday and this will go until sometime at the end of November or into December a bit.  Living on one income has necessitated some lifestyle changes for us and things are definitely tighter financially (anyone want to buy a 2005 Pathfinder?).  I'm grateful for the option I have to make some extra money for us right now.

Here's where I need you:  What is a suggestion or encouragement that you wouldn't mind sharing, that has helped you with a goal (weight-loss or other) in the past?  Leave a comment to share with me and my 2 readers (ha ha).

Spray-paint projects

If you know me, you know that I love to use spray paint.  I will spray paint almost anything in my house, just because I can.   I've spray-painted many peices of furniture, and then re-sprayed them when I wanted a new color.  There was the table and chairs I painted blue right after we got married.   A few years later, I sprayed them black.  Then there was the cute little blue shelf I found in a trash dumpster when we lived in an apartment in Denver.  I sprayed it black a while later, and then recently topped it with white.  A pedestal has gone from gray, to black, to white.  A pine-colored side table is now black.  Four brown baskets have a new life in white.  Three brown picture frames became red.   A white bathroom shelf unit was more suited with green. In fact, I once spray-painted my dishwasher (complete with heat-safe appliance paint, and plastic paint for the controls) and saved my white kitchen cabinets from having to clash with its shade of warm almond.  Truly, I do not discriminate when it comes to items I choose to spray paint.   Anything that comes in my house is considered fair game for a color change.  You might want to keep your eyes on your shoes and handbags.

Here are a couple of my latest spray-paint projects:

This is a mirror I bought at a garage sale for $3.  I decided it would go better with my decor if it was white.  I had plenty of white primer from another project  so I decided to use it, without paint, for the mirror since I'd need to prime it anyway.

 I covered the mirror with magazine pages to protect it from the spray. 

I sprayed the frame from all viewable sides. 

Looks clean and fresh in my hallway!

I have two of the flower arrangements pictured below that sit on the mantle above our fireplace.  I decided the vases were too dark and were attracting too much attention to themselves.  I wanted to tone them down a bit.  

Here's what they looked like before.  A little too orange-brown.

I wrapped the floral part with upside-down plastic bags and tucked the handles inside.

First, they get a coat of primer.

Then, with their final paint color, they blend in much better with the fireplace.

 It's as easy as the three "P's":  Prepare, Prime, Paint.  You should try it.  I can't find a cheaper, faster or more satisfying way to update your home decor.  And there you have it! 

Pictures as promised

Here are a few shots of Max in the hat from Steph.  You can even see his third tooth in the first picture!

Having a good time!

So stylin'!

Just love this cute little guy!

Awestruck!

For those of you who don't know, I have an incredible sister-in-law, Stephanie, who is probably the coolest crafter I've ever met in my whole life!  Just when I think she's made it to the epitome of craftiness, she goes and makes something else even more incredible!  If you haven't read her blog: murrillspearlsofwisdom.blogspot.com, then you need to.  She shares pictures of some of the things she's made including wallets, baby head bands, baby quilts, customized onesies and now she's even making earrings.  She sews, crochet's, makes greeting cards, refinishes furniture and more!  To top that off, she made the cutest hat for Max and gave it to him today.  I need to get a picture of him in it and post it.  It's absolutely adorable.

She has been a huge inspiration to me.  I used to crochet years ago, maybe when I was around 12 years old, or so, but I later gave it up.  Then I tried sewing, but that too included projects that took so long that I ran out of motivation to see them through.  I've always loved paper and beads, not necessarily together, but I could never figure out what to do with them.  Finally, now that I'm older (maybe turning 30 shocked my psyche), and due mostly to Stephanie's influence, I have tried doing a few of the "crafty" things I used to do.  I picked up crocheting again, she's shown me how to make some great shirt embellishments, and she has helped me realize that instead of being afraid to try something, I should just go for it.

Thank you, Stephanie, for your unknowing encouragement to my creative side!

This week wasn't as successful as I'd hoped with my resolution.  I am going another week with no desserts/extra sugar, and although it didn't create an astonishing weight loss over one week's time (or any for that matter, ha ha), I have no doubt it will help me in the long run, and also keep sickness at bay.  Several nights this week I felt like my sinuses were going to break in to a bad cold by morning, but it didn't happen!  I know sugar is bad for the immune system, so I might have my new "sugar rule" to thank for staying well.  Even that seems worth giving up sugar.  I weighed in at 166.2 pounds on Friday.

Here we go.  Call me crazy, but I'm going to shoot for 165.0 pounds by next week!  Let's see if I can get back on the "losing" wagon and do this!

Too much of a good thing?

Apple season is upon us and since I've been eating delicious, freshly picked honeycrisp's every day, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I'm experiencing one of nature's more unpleasant afflictions.  I'll let you guess what that might be, shouldn't be too difficult.  I've been taking it easy since yesterday and hoping to feel better soon.  Luckily, we had an awesome day outside on Wednesday at the beach with Maria and the kids, so staying inside hasn't felt too bad.  I've posted a few pictures below from our beach trip.

I weighed in this morning at 166.4 lbs.  This week it was definitely harder to stay on track and I had several meals eating out, including a never-ending pasta bowl from Olive Garden, that I can't say I regret!  Did you know that you have to have a deficit of 3500 calories to lose just one pound?  That's a lot.  I've been trying to cut back by a few hundred calories per day.  Even that isn't easy, so to build up to that size of a calorie deficit can take more than a day or two, and frankly it should, if I am to be losing weight in a healthful way.  

I'm going to try something new this week that I haven't done since I was pregnant and was ordered to do this by my doctors.  I am going to try to go off of sweets, candy, etc. for the week and see how I feel.  I am not planning to go off of everything that has sugar in it, as this would mean I wouldn't be able to eat almost anything, but I am going to try to make choices that exclude desserts, and other obvious sugar-laden foods.  

I'll check in next Friday and let you know how it goes! Until then, enjoy the harvest of September, but remember: it's possible to eat too many apples.

 

A mini-party

I decided I need to throw myself a mini-party today because this morning I weighed in at 166.0 pounds.  I'm so excited to be at my lowest weight yet.  The Myplate feature I'm using on livestrong.com has really made a difference for me.  It's helped me realize my portions were too big and also that I wasn't getting enough activity.  I've adjusted my lifestyle this week accordingly and I hope to keep it up!  Back to the fun...My mini-party consists of me giving myself a manicure.  :)

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend.  We went on lots of walks, played at the park and just had a low-key time.  It was just what the four of us needed.  We are happy to all be together after a very fun summer of lots of great vacations, but also the "un-fun" aspect of lots of time with Mike gone.

We've had amazing weather this last week.  It's been in the mid-low 70's most days and it's perfect for just hanging out outside.  I'm so glad fall is creeping in!

I heart Sunday breakfasts.

This is how I love to start a Sunday morning.  I'm sitting here eating a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes, stripples, and scrambled eggs all courtesy of my awesome husband!  He's also feeding both boys breakfast while I sit here at the table in my own little world.  I'm a lucky girl.  Once breakfast is over, we're walking to the farmer's market to get some fresh produce.  It was actually cool yesterday and last night was down right chilly.  It was wonderful.  I'm ready for a taste of fall after the long, hot, humid summer we've had.

Friday, I weighed in at 168.8 lbs.  It was only a few days before that I started using MyPlate and I think some fluctuation is normal.  I've been faithful with inputting my food and snacks and I'm still loving all the features MyPlate has to offer.  Thanks again, Timi, for your fabulous suggestion!

Happy Labor Day weekend!  I hope you can all enjoy some good food, good company, and get a little nap.  I sure plan to!